Are you ready to become an allergy champion? Complete the Anaphylaxis in the Community: What Parents and Others Need to Know online course to learn more about managing allergies and submit your contest entry for a chance to win an iPad Pro.

The contest is open to all legal residents of Canada who are 14 years of age or older at the time of entry. No purchase or fee is required to enter and there can only be one entry per person. Chances of winning depend on the number of entries. An independent third party will supervise winner selection.

The Sabrina Shannon Memorial Award is dedicated to the life of Sabrina Shannon, an inspiring teenager who suffered a fatal anaphylactic reaction in 2003. In 2005, Sabrina’s Law was passed in Ontario, providing landmark legislation that has influenced policy across Canada and the United States. The Sabrina Shannon Memorial Award, made possible through an educational grant from TD Securities, provides two awards of $1,000 to students entering their first year or continuing their studies at a post-secondary institution.

Details:
Scholarship eligibility
– Canadian resident under the age of 25
– Enrolled at a post-secondary institution (i.e. entering first year of studies or continuing in current program
– Student has made exceptional contributions to raising food allergy awareness in their own community.

Amount
2x $1,000 awards

Instructions on how to apply
-A completed application form
-A 500-1500 word essay describing your efforts to raise awareness and educate others about life-threatening allergies
-Contact information for two references

Hey allergic teens living in Winnipeg! This is an awesome opportunity just for you.

The Children’s Allergy & Asthma Education Centre (CAAEC), Winnipeg, Manitoba invites teens ages 12-16 years with food allergy to the Allergy Lounge. Join us to connect, learn and share with other teens with food allergy. Join us Thursday, October 29th, 2015 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm and November 26th, 2015 at the CAAEC at 685 William Avenue. This is a free event. Participants can enter to win a $50 Movie pass. Bring a friend (friend does not have to have allergies)

Note: The following advice is simply that: advice. It is not to be substituted for professional advice from your dentist. It is, rather, intended to serve as a general reminder to help you work with your dentist and/or other dental professionals to aid in safe experiences at the dentist.

Going to the dentist is an experience most people try to avoid. I know this because I’m a dental student and my patients are never shy to remind me of this. Usually, a dentist will ask you to fill out a health questionnaire before seeing you. This is where you should write down any allergies you have. A few common ones that are important for your dentist to know include (but are not limited to):

Antibiotics (e.g. penicillin, sulfonamides). A dentist might prescribe you antibiotics if you have a tooth ache and need a root canal, or if you just had a…

Hi. I’m Harrison, an 18 year old university student allergic to eggs, dairy, soy, all nuts, all seafood, apples, cherries, and pears. If you count, that’s 8 allergies, so I decided to create the 8 creative allergy advantages list!

1. Responsibility

When I was 7, I never forgot a toy at a restaurant, to tie my shoes, or to bring my homework while other kids my age left stuff all over the place. What was different for me? My auto-injector taught me responsibility; when I was 9. I was already remembering to bring it everywhere, and had the responsibility of telling my teachers I couldn’t eat their treats.

2. You can’t eat many foods

Why is that an advantage you say? Because I don’t need to figure out what I’m going to eat or spend time or money trying new foods or recipes; I just eat the same 20 or so things over and over with small variations. As a result, I’ve gotten so good that I can even impress friends and my parents by cooking for them!

3. Conversation-ing (because that’s a word)

Want to talk to someone? Here’s an example of how I do it. Just wait until your target is eating (should be easy because people eat all the time)

Harrison: What’s that?

Really pretty person who I want to talk to: It’s my lunch, its macaroni and cheese.

Harrison: Cool. Does it taste good? I wouldn’t know, I’m allergic.

Pretty person: Oh my gosh I’m sorry, should I not be eating this in front of you?

There you go, conversation. Do I want them to take pity on me, or do I want to be confident that I love myself? It’s all up to me, and that’s awesome.

4. Familiarity with restaurants

The 2 or 3 restaurants I go to, I go to ALL THE TIME. I even know the waiters by name there, and when they come up to serve me they say “Hi Harrison!”, and then I just go “Hi (waiter’s name)! The usual please”, and BAM, there’s no non-allergy person who can order as fast as I can!

5. Empathy

Having food allergies lets you relate and share something in common with other people with dietary restrictions, for example food sensitivities, diabetes, vegans, or lactose intolerance. From there you can share common experiences, tips, stories, and in some cases that’s how I met some of my best friends today!

6. YOU GET TO BE PART OF YAP. I MEAN JUST LOOK AT ALL THESE AWESOME PEOPLE AND BLOG POSTS. NEED I SAY MORE?!?!?!?

7. Character building.

Imagine a family vacation to Mexico where you’ll meet over 40 of your family members, half of which you don’t know, none of which have food allergies. And then imagine a careless cross-contamination incident at the restaurant and going to the hospital while these relatives are watching you, some not even knowing you had food allergies in the first place, some not even speaking English! Yeah, that was me.

I really learned to own and not be ashamed of my allergies in Mexico because I couldn’t hide what happened, so instead I came out of that hospital saying ‘Yeah it was an allergic reaction. I’ll talk to the chef about it next time. I’m ok now, no worries. Can we still go snorkelling please?’

8. It’s you

Do you have someone you love so much that even with their negative traits (that you complain about to all your other friends) you wouldn’t want them any other way? Yep, that’s how I bet other people see you too! And sure I’m allergic to a lot, and sometimes I blow it out of proportion, but at the end of the day I’m glad it’s a part of me not only because there are 8 creative advantages, but because it’s me, and I love me and wouldn’t want me any other way.

Anaphylaxis Canada is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the sixth annual Sabrina Shannon Memorial Award.

This award is dedicated to Sabrina Shannon, an inspiring teenager who suffered a fatal anaphylactic reaction in 2003. During her life, Sabrina helped to raise awareness about food allergy by creating a first-person radio documentary, “A Nutty Tale,” which aired on CBC Radio in 2001. Since her passing, Sabrina’s parents and other members of the allergy community have kept Sabrina’s spirit alive by advocating for allergy-aware school environments. In 2005, Sabrina’s Law was passed in Ontario, resulting in landmark legislation that has influenced school anaphylaxis policies across Canada.

Two awards of $1,000 each will be granted to students entering their first year or continuing their studies at a post-secondary institution.

Applications will be evaluated on a submission essay which describes the student’s efforts to raise awareness about severe allergies and anaphylaxis in their schools or communities.

The application form can be downloaded from Anaphylaxis Canada’s youth website http://www.whyriskit.ca. All applications must be submitted by June 19th, 2015.

Read about our 2014 award winners Sydney Harris, and Katherine Li and their accomplishments in raising allergy awareness in their communities.

For more information, please contact Anaphylaxis Canada at 1-866-785-5660 or info@anaphylaxis.ca. Award funded by a grant from TD Securities.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 13,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

About Us

This blog is written and maintained by members of Food Allergy Canada's Youth Advisory Panel, a group of allergic youth from across Canada. It is meant to share the stories and perspectives of youth with severe allergies. Its contents do not reflect the ideals or opinions of Food Allergy Canada.

For current guidelines on best practices, resources, and food allergy research, see
www.whyriskit.ca.